1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for indicating the amount of gravity impact to which a shipping container has been subjected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a need for an indicating device which can be mounted in a shipping container carrying valuable delicate cargo such as precision instruments, computer equipment, electronic components, controls, etc. A single container of such precision devices may be worth many thousands of dollars and the devices may be completely destroyed if the container should be dropped.
In order to properly assess liability for damage which may result from such a gravity impact, it is extremely helpful to have a device which indicates whether or not the container has been dropped and subjected to an undesirable amount of gravity impact. The device should also preferably be capable of indicating the degree of gravity impact to which the container has been subjected. The device should also be tamper-proof and incapable of being reset.
There is a device on the market at the present time which is designed with springs and a ball in an arrangement which comes apart when the container is subjected to a fixed preset amount of gravity impact. If the amount of impact is only slightly less than the preset amount, nothing happens. If the impact is substantially greater than the preset amount, there is no way to determine how much greater the impact might have been.
There is no gravity impact indicating device available on the market at the present time which is capable of meeting the needs and requirements of manufacturers and shippers of delicate costly cargo.